Almost Done

I've just finished the most basic of services for the new Lovarian home site. Sections where I used third-part PHP-based applications won't be making the move to the new site but shouldn't impact the main purpose of the site: provide a home for the Lovarian Adventures webcomic.

Now, http://palabok.com/lovaria/ is still not ready because at this time, my host is doing some special server maintenance work. Once they're done, I can upload the files to the new URL. After that, we'll pull the plug from the http://lovaria.com/ site.



Meanwhile, here is a snapshot of the Sims 2 game I'm playing. Nadine and Helix are getting along well without my controlling them.

Moving Out This Weekend

We went through our finances just the other day and realised that we are spending too much on a lot of miscellaneous stuff that we need to cut down. One of the things that we decided that needed to be cut down is the Lovarian site.

At the moment, we are paying for two webhostings (the current Lovarian site and the our new personal Palabok.com site). Although the newer one is still pretty bare, we are probably going to find that hosting much more useful in the long term than the PHP-only powered Lovarian site.

So what will happen is that tomorrow, I'll be moving any moveable files from the old Lovaria site into the new web host. Although I originally wanted to redevelop the whole website into ASP.Net, I'm just going to reprogram the PHP stuff from the old webpages into Classic ASP for now. The sooner I move the stuff the to new site, the sooner we can shut down the old one and stop paying the monthly fees for it.

Sadly, not everything can easily be ported to the new ASP/ASP.Net host. The current gallery will no longer be available in the new site. I'm going to probably get an ASP/ASP.Net driven gallery software for the new site or develop my own from scratch. But at the moment, I'll just make sure that the webcomic pages will be accessible in the new site.

I'm still thinking of keeping the lovaria.com domain name since it really doesn't cost that much and it's like 10 dollars per year. I'll just have to redirect it to the new site once the old site goes offline for good.

So, I'm not sure if there is going to be a new comic page next week. But if I'm up for it, there might just be. But as it is, it is unlikely.

While I'm writing this blog, I might as well thank those of you who still support this webcomic even if it isn't updating that often lately. I'm actually embarassed that you are actively voting for it when I haven't been updating really. Thanks.

Lovarian Sims

Just to keep you guys occupied for the time being, here is a snapshot of a Sims 2 family I made based on the heroes of Lovarian Adventures:



Just to be sure, from left to right are Helix, Nadine, Sephriel, Lili and Mendoran. Yeah, I know Mendoran looks frail here but I don't have much of a choice. Limited selections and all that. The same goes for their "costumes" here. I had to choose the nearest thing. Hope you guys like it.

7:3 Uploaded

Yep. It's a new page and it's exactly one week later from my previous update. However, I'm not totally happy with the last few panels of this page. Ah well. Hope you all enjoy it anyway.

My Webcomic Page Making Process

There are some people who have always been wanting me to tell them the steps behind making Lovarian Adventures webcomic pages. I've told them some people some of the steps but I don't believe I've written anything that lists all the steps involved. Since I'm in the mood to write today, I've decided to outline the process I use to create webcomic pages.

The Story
Before I even start drawing a page, I must have a story for that page. I do not have an actual script though. Instead of writing a script, I write a short-story-like prose about what's going to take place. These short stories are not meant to be read by others. I meant to only be used by myself as guides into drawing the comic pages.

Example Excerpt (used for last part of 7:1, whole of 7:2 and start of 7:3):

Meanwhile, inside one of the wagons passing in front of the steps, Mendoran and Sephriel finally snapped out of the Cursor's spell.

"Where are they taking us?" asked Sephriel.

"I haven't a clue," replied Mendoran.

"We have to get out of here. We have to save the others."

"It's no use. I've seen Sylosian prison carriages before and I know it's enchanted with a type of magic that makes the walls indestructible and us inside inaudible to those outside."

"Well, maybe this is different from the one you saw before."

Sephriel tried kicking the door open but he was only pushed hard by a strong unseen force away from the door. He flew across the small space and hit his head on the opposite carriage wall, knocking him out.

"Uhurm. Kids," mumbled Mendoran while he positioned Sephriel into a more comfortable sitting position. "They always think they know everything.

Meanwhile, back inside the cave, Helix, Nadine and Lili faced a group of summoned gargoyles.

As you can see, the dialog for the comic pages are derived from this short story. The language I use in the description isn't too exciting or elaborate but it should be enough for me to remember what I had intended to happen for that page.

Also, you'd notice that I did not put any indicators as to where a page should start and finish. I decide what goes into a page on the day I draw the page.

The Template
I made Photoshop PSD-file page template based on a much older page I've finished using my old process of making pages. This page does not have any drawings but I have preserved the borders and panel outlines. I have also preserved the captions below the page that tells you what chapter number and page number the current page is as well as the copyright information.

I have also preserved one line of dialog so that I do not have to remember the font settings I use for the characters' dialog balloons. I can just copy and paste that then replace the text with the new dialog.

Also in place are Photoshop guides (light blue coloured snap-in lines) that tell me where the panel borders could be drawn. I can use these guides to easily draw the panel borders later on.

So when I'm ready to start on a new page, I start up Photoshop, open the page template, change the chapter and page number text to reflect the chapter:page I'll be working on and save it as another file that follows this naming convention: "CC-PP.psd" where CC is the chapter number and PP is the page number. As an example, Chapter 7, page 2 would be saved as 07-02.psd.

Borders and Dialog
After the creation of the new page, I will now add the panel borders and dialog. This is the part that requires a bit of imagination though as I will not draw anything yet at this stage. I take the short-story/script I have written and decide how much of the paragraphs would go into one panel and the next and so forth.

I look at the blank page and start typing up the dialog I have on the story then imagine what would be drawn in the panels to accompany the dialog based on the actual dialog and on the description written in the story if available.

It is also at this time I decide how big a panel is going to be and where on the page it is going to be placed. Once I've decided, I create a new Photoshop layers called "Temporary Borders" and I draw the border of the first panel using black thick lines only. Next I type up the dialog for panel two and draw the borders for it.

I'll keep on doing this until I run out of panels to fit in the page. By the end of this stage, I have a page that has plain black lined panel borders and dialog text (without the dialog balloons themselves) on the drawing-less page.

Tablet Sketching
I zoom out the blank page to 25% so I can see the "big picture" and using my tablet, I sketch out the under-drawings of what should be in the individual panels.

The advantage of drawing at a zoomed out page is that it gives me an idea of how all the drawings would look like together.

It's also easier to draw characters in proportion. My problem with drawing big is that by the time I start drawing the legs of a character, the rest of the body may be too small for the feet I've drawn for him/her. It's always been easier for me to draw small. So with the page "shrunk", it's easier for me to maintain body proportions.

The sketches I'll have after drawing in zoomed out mode comes out very messy. I'll have to zoom in to clean up the sketches and fine-tune some of the details. The cleaner the final drawings are, the better, as I'll be using these sketches as under-drawings for when I actually draw the page later.

While working on a panel, I also add in the dialog balloons. This way, I do not have to draw anything that will just be covered by the dialog balloons anyway. Also, it helps me reposition the characters and objects for that panel.

I could probably finish the page right there. But as I've discovered when I tried that with Chapter 7 Page 1, I cannot make the page look as good as when I draw the page with an actual pencil. And by the time I finish the page, my hand is in terrible pain. So I do not even attempt to draw finished panels at this stage. Sure I clean up the panels but only to the point where I can use them as under-drawings. When the drawings are good enough for that purpose, I stop.

Printing
At this stage, I already have a "finished" page. I have the panels and the dialog balloons drawn out. It's an ugly page but I can upload it like that and people should be able to read and understand it. But as much as possible, I do not wish to upload a page that isn't on a certain level of quality. I've decided some time ago that I'll no longer ink the comic pages but I'll make sure the pencils will look good enough to stand alone. But before I can add the traditional pencils on to this purely digital work, I will have to print the page.

I flatten the layers of the current page then flip the whole page horizontally, giving me a mirror image of the page. I will then print the page on my Canon bubble-jet printer.

Finish Drawing the Page
I will now have a mirror-image version of the page on paper. I then flip the page and I start drawing on the blank side of the page. The printed under-drawings, borders and dialog balloons would still be faintly visible from the blank side of the page. I use them as guide when I draw with the pencils.

Sometimes I just trace the under-drawings if I find the drawings to be pretty enough. Sometimes though, I just use it to guide me in positioning the characters and objects when I redraw them.

When I'm done with the pencilling, I scan the pencilled page back to my PC.

Finishing Touches
I copy and paste the scanned pencilled page into the template as a layer behind the dialog balloons. Then, I draw the actual panel borders on top of it in another layer.

When that's done, I flatten the layers then resize the page down with the width equal to 500 pixels. I save that as a JPEG file and upload it to the site. And I'm done.


There you have it. That's my relatively new process for creating a webcomic page. I think I'll be sticking with this process for a while as it relatively easy for me to do. In the past I've incurred delays in finishing a page because I cannot decide what to draw in a panel or how to draw what should be in a panel. But now that I do all of that part digitally, I can easily resize, reposition and alter any under-drawings I have already drawn. No need to redraw anything.

Anyway, I'm not sure if this will help you in creating your own webcomic (which wasn't my intent in writing this) but at the very least, I hope you found this article interesting.

7:3 In The Works

That's right. I'm currently working on the next page. I'm in the layout process at the moment where I sketch the layout for the whole page on Photoshop. When I'm happy with it, I mirror-image the whole thing, print it then draw on the blank side of the paper using the barely-visible printed flipside as guide and underdrawing.

I think that doing pages this way is a lot easier on me. Somehow, I get to invision the whole page before actually drawing one line. Although it is an easier process for me now, I'm not sure it will be any quicker to do it this way.

Time will tell.

Also, I'd like to honour the memory of a great man. A Superman. Christopher Reeve died Sunday at age 52. Thanks for making us believe a man can fly!

Working on Things

Work is currently underway on our new website Palabok.com. Specifically, the section of the site that will be the new home for my Lovarian Adventures webcomics.

My plan is to develop my very own comics engine and shoutbox clone for the new Lovarian site. I'll probably leave the forum off site where it currently is. I will also probably make the Lovarian pages more automated and modularised and place all the actual content on database tables.

Grand plans. But it may take a while to see it all through.

The new host at Brinkster.com is a Microsoft-shop host which supports ASP and ASP.NET technologies (and supposedly our account can handle PHP pages, too, but I haven't really tested that feature yet). Now, although Raquel and I are both quite skilled in developing web applications using classic ASP, we are still fairly new to ASP.NET and C#.

For us, one of the factors for getting a web host that supports ASP.NET technologies is so that we can create a web site and learn and practice using ASP.NET at the same time. It'll help us be more familiarised with a new language that we use at work.

Even though I can probably create all the necessary modules and automation I wanted for the website easily and quickly using classic ASP, I've decided to make this a learning experience by using C# anyway. And since I'll be using a language I'm not totally at ease with, building the new website has been slow.

I've spent my Saturday just trying to figure out the best way to show a pop-up window that shows all the smilies/emoticons you can use on the shoutbox clone I'm planning to make. Ah well.

I'll get there eventually. Once I get past all these hurdles at the start, I'm hoping things will get easier later on.

So, this weekend, I've spent my free time doing some C# web application coding. I'm sorry to say to my readers that I haven't done any work at all on another page update. But they shouldn't worry. I'm no longer thinking of giving up on the webcomic... for the time being. :P

Now, I was going to draw the design page (read my previous blog regarding my new web comic creation process) on Photoshop tonight but this afternoon I caught a bad cold while out to buy groceries.

So the rest of the afternoon and tonight was spent sneezing and coughing. I'm thinking of just getting a sickie (sick leave) tomorrow but I'm not sure if they'll be requiring me to get a GP (General Practitioner aka family doctor) to sign a medical certificate. Since I'm new here in Melbourne, I still don't have a GP so that may be more hassle than just going to work anyway. I just hope I feel better tomorrow.

Anyway, just saying that a lot is happening. If it weren't for this blasted cold, I would've done more tonight. But as it is, I just want to go to bed and sleep it off. With that, I bid you all good night.

LA 7:2 Uploaded

Hey guys. I hope you all like the new page. At the very least, I hope you like the fact that there is a new page. :) Thanks for all of you who have been loyal to the webcomic even though it was inactive for quite a while.

I don't know when I'll be able to draw another page. At this point, I do not want to promise anything. But at least I feel like drawing again. So hopefully, there'll be another update soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the new page.

Almost Done

Can you believe it? I've finished reinstalling my PC. Well, almost. I still need to reinstall my games. But I guess I can always do that later and in the meantime I can concentrate on my programming and drawing.

And speaking of drawing, I'm also almost done with the new comic page! Just need to finish the last panel with Mendoran in it. =)

I should be able to upload a new page tonight. Barring any more technical difficulties, that is.

Bloody Hell!

I had the intention of drawing a new page for my Lovarian Adventures webcomic this past weekend but it seems that fate conspired against me updating the webcomic.

Friday, I was all revved up to draw the page after I got home from the company night bowling. But like I said in my previous post, my thumb and wrist hurt and that hindered me from drawing.

So I thought of coming up with a new way of drawing the page. That is, designing the whole page in Photoshop, add the dialog and dialog balloons, flip the whole page horizontally (making it a mirror image of itself), print it then draw on the other side of the paper using the print out on the reverse side as a guide.

Anyway, that's what I was doing that Friday so come Saturday I can just finish the design then print it then draw draw draw. I was able to finish off the design/sketch for panel 1 and 2 that night despite my aching hand. I think it was that day I first noticed this odd thing.

I usually use Alt-Tab to switch between the multiple applications I have running simultaneously on my PC. And sometimes, I hold on to the Alt-Tab keys and wait for that pop-up window that shows all the active applications' icons and select the one I wanted to use. The odd thing I saw was that there is this one empty slot where an icon should be in that window. I tabbed to it and according to Windows, a program called SP.EXE is running and that empty icon slot belongs to it.

SP.EXE? I don't recall running that application. In fact, I don't remember installing it at all. Since the program doesn't really have a window of its own, there is no easy way of closing down the application. Good thing I use my keyboard more than my mouse to navigate through my PC so I know the shortcut key to close an application: Ctrl-F4. That closed it.

I thought it was a one-off thing so I forgot about it. Until I encountered the same thing last Saturday when I was about to start working on the new page. When I found that it was running on my PC again, I promptly closed it using the Ctrl-F4 technique. But this time, my curiousity was piqued. I want to find out what that was about! Again, it's a job for Google!

Using Google, I was able to find out that the SP.exe program was indeed some form of spyware or trojan software. Supposedly it alters the Internet Explorer so that it creates links to ntsearch.com search site. Others say that it also captures keystrokes so that it could've sent any of the passwords I have entered while it was on to somebody on the Internet! Bloody Hell!

I was furious with myself for not updating my Windows XP with those security patches Microsoft dishes out. I should've known that my system would be vulnerable to hacks like that from the web since I'm a Windows user.

Anyway, instead of drawing the new page, I spent that Saturday trying to remove the blasted SP.exe file. I also installed the new Windows XP service pack 2, installed Ad-Aware from LavaSoft to remove all adware and spyware from my PC and updated my old antivirus signature files.

While doing that, I tried to continue sketching the page on the PC anyway. I thought, "there's always tomorrow anyway." I thought wrong.

So Sunday, I fully expected finish this new page but as it happens, it seems like fate is against me finishing this new page. I turned on my PC and it was no longer the same reliable PC it once was.

Something was wrong with the tablet. Yahoo Messenger (YM) cannot connect to the Internet when the Windows XP starts up (it does connect on the second go though). Not all of the expected icons are appearing on my system tray (like the Palm HotSync icon, the YM icon, the PowerVCR icon, and Audio control icon. When I open up the Windows Explorer, it cannot find my C: and D: drives. And then there's also the bloody Gozilla window that keeps on popping up when I'm using Internet Explorer. What's infuriating about that bit was that I just uninstalled Gozilla! How can I uninstall something that is already uninstalled!?

Simply, my PC is messed up, stuffed and buggered! It's at the end of its rope. I fear that it was time for what we like to call (or hate to call actually), a reinstall. I tried to salvage the system. I even tried to finish the page at the very least. And I was actually able to finish the page design. It was ready for printing but then my printer driver was on the blitz too! It won't let me print the damned thing! I tried working the scanner so that I may still be able to draw the page from absolute scratch and then scan it in the end but it's no use. The scanner driver is stuffed too!

My Sunday was spent trying to fix the system and then in the end, formatting my C drive and reinstalling Windows 2000 Professional on top of it. I decided to install Win2k this time because I feel it is more stable and hopefully more secure than WinXP. The other reason is so that I can finally connect with Raquel's PC which also runs Win2k (couldn't get WinXP to connect with Win2k in the past).

Anyway, so ends what could've been a very productive weekend. The frustrating thing is that I'm still reinstalling my PC. I have lots of applications I need to reinstall in it like Photoshop, Microsoft Office, OpenCanvas, Visual Studio .Net, etc, etc, etc.

So yeah. The short of it is that the new page will be delayed. Heck of an excuse isn't it? Bloody Hell!

Bowling Night Effect

It's my second week of working with Ocean Software and so far, I'm still enjoying it very much. It is a very relaxed environment but the work is still challenging and exciting. The problem with being relatively new-comer in a new company is that I still do not know everybody that well and everybody else knows everybody else quite well.

From experience, I find it difficult to join in on on-going conversations because people would tend to talk about shared experiences past and present. So when the company decided to have a bowling night tonight, I signed up hoping to bond with my new co-workers.

Apart from the thick smoke-filled air of the bowling centre (smoking is allowed there), I'd say it was a very regret-free night. I enjoyed myself and got to know my co-workers a little better.

Now here is the thing... It's been a while since I last played ten-pin bowling. Although I enjoyed the game, I'm now in pain. My right thumb and right wrist is aching at the moment and so is my left thigh (I know it shouldn't be affected but it is).

And tonight, I was feeling enthusiastic in continuing the Lovarian Adventures webcomic at long last. I printed my blank comic page templates and started sketching. To my surprise, I found it painful in the wrist to hold a pencil! So, this is the case of "the mind is willing but the flesh is weak." Ugh.

Hopefully the aches will pass before the weekend ends so that I will still have time to draw a new comic page update (in over four months). In the meantime, I will try to work on the new site at Palabok.com.